Prep Rally

Fake school’s coach resigns via Twitter, weighs in on fraud

As the woeful story of West Virginia Prep Academy unfolds, the true depth of Daniel Hicks' duplicitous attempts to create a false basketball school are becoming more clear. It's also abundantly clear that Hicks is an incredibly convincing con man, able to sell both players and coaches on the possibilities his new school in West Virginia held, only to pull the rug out from underneath them all when they arrived at the site that was to be their cramped and crowded home.

"After arriving in South Charleston on August 29, it became apparent to me that the program lacked the organization to be sustainable," Smith told Prep Rally via email. "My hope of being a head coach for D1 student-athletes fueled my efforts to help the program the four days I was there because I had made a tremendous sacrifice to be there."

While Smith repeatedly said that he felt sorry for all the players involved in the scam, it's clear that he, too, was a victim of Daniel Hicks' scheme. Smith was contacted and brought in to be a coach for the program less than 60 days before the school was to open and dropped his other commitments to try and help build a successful program. Because he holds an MBA degree, Smith was also told that he would proctor some of the students' classes as well.

At the end of the day, it seems Smith was guilty of little more than his own ambition to prove that he could lead a top flight program, only to unintentionally lead a handful of teenagers into the teeth of an elaborate get rich quick scheme perpetrated by a single, convincing con man.

"I was hired as a head coach for West Virginia Christian Prep Academy in July 2011 with the hopes of demonstrating to the coaching fraternity that I could recruit, teach, and coach D1 student-athletes," Smith said via email. "Based on representations made to me by Daniel Hicks (Head Master/Athletic Director) about the school, I recruited a talented group of D1 student-athletes in less than 60 days.

"I would like to send out my deepest apologies to all the parents, student-athletes, and coaches that were hoping to achieve great things at West Virginia Christian Prep Academy. … All of our hopes and dreams for making it to the next level (as players and coaches) through West Virginia Christian Prep Academy were abruptly cut short, and for that I am deeply sorry."